Mephibosheth

David asks a question few kings would think to ask: “Is there yet any that is left of the house of Saul, that I may shew him kindness for Jonathan’s sake?” The answer is Mephibosheth, Jonathan’s son, living quietly in Lodebar. David restores his family land and seats him at the royal table (2 Samuel 9). Later, during Absalom’s revolt, Ziba claims his master hoped to take the kingdom, and David hastily gives Ziba the property. When David returns, Mephibosheth says, “let him take all,” glad only that the king is home in peace. The kindness of chapter 9 is the best place to start.

14 verses

2 Samuel

2 Samuel 9:1

And David said, Is there yet any that is left of the house of Saul, that I may shew him kindness for Jonathan's sake?

2 Samuel 9:2

And there was of the house of Saul a servant whose name was Ziba. And when they had called him unto David, the king said unto him, Art thou Ziba? And he said, Thy servant is he.

2 Samuel 9:3

And the king said, Is there not yet any of the house of Saul, that I may shew the kindness of God unto him? And Ziba said unto the king, Jonathan hath yet a son, which is lame on his feet.

2 Samuel 9:4

And the king said unto him, Where is he? And Ziba said unto the king, Behold, he is in the house of Machir, the son of Ammiel, in Lodebar.

2 Samuel 9:5

Then king David sent, and fetched him out of the house of Machir, the son of Ammiel, from Lodebar.

2 Samuel 9:6

Now when Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, was come unto David, he fell on his face, and did reverence. And David said, Mephibosheth. And he answered, Behold thy servant!

2 Samuel 9:7

And David said unto him, Fear not: for I will surely shew thee kindness for Jonathan thy father's sake, and will restore thee all the land of Saul thy father; and thou shalt eat bread at my table continually.

2 Samuel 16:1

And when David was a little past the top of the hill, behold, Ziba the servant of Mephibosheth met him, with a couple of asses saddled, and upon them two hundred loaves of bread, and an hundred bunches of raisins, and an hundred of summer fruits, and a bottle of wine.

2 Samuel 16:2

And the king said unto Ziba, What meanest thou by these? And Ziba said, The asses be for the king's household to ride on; and the bread and summer fruit for the young men to eat; and the wine, that such as be faint in the wilderness may drink.

2 Samuel 16:3

And the king said, And where is thy master's son? And Ziba said unto the king, Behold, he abideth at Jerusalem: for he said, To day shall the house of Israel restore me the kingdom of my father.

2 Samuel 16:4

Then said the king to Ziba, Behold, thine are all that pertained unto Mephibosheth. And Ziba said, I humbly beseech thee that I may find grace in thy sight, my lord, O king.

2 Samuel 19:29

And the king said unto him, Why speakest thou any more of thy matters? I have said, Thou and Ziba divide the land.

2 Samuel 19:30

And Mephibosheth said unto the king, Yea, let him take all, forasmuch as my lord the king is come again in peace unto his own house.

1 Chronicles

1 Chronicles 8:34

And the son of Jonathan was Meribbaal; and Meribbaal begat Micah.

From Easton's Bible Dictionary

Matthew George Easton, 1897

Exterminator of shame; i.e., of idols. (1.) The name of Saul’s son by the concubine Rizpah (q.v.), the daughter of Aiah. He and his brother Armoni were with five others “hanged on a hill before the Lord” by the Gibeonites, and their bodies exposed in the sun for five months (2 Sam. 21:8-10). (2.) The son of Jonathan, and grandson of Saul (2 Sam. 4:4). He was but five years old when his father and grandfather fell on Mount Gilboa. The child’s nurse hearing of this calamity, fled with him from Gibeah, the royal residence, and stumbling in her haste, the child was thrown to the ground and maimed in both his feet, and ever after was unable to walk (19:26). He was carried to the land of Gilead, where he found a refuge in the house of Machir, the son of Ammiel, at Lo-debar, by whom he was brought up.

Read the full entry

Some years after this, when David had subdued all the adversaries of Israel, he began to think of the family of Jonathan, and discovered that Mephibosheth was residing in the house of Machir. Thither he sent royal messengers, and brought him and his infant son to Jerusalem, where he ever afterwards resided (2 Sam. 9).

When David was a fugitive, according to the story of Ziba (2 Sam. 16:1-4) Mephibosheth proved unfaithful to him, and was consequently deprived of half of his estates; but according to his own story, however (19:24-30), he had remained loyal to his friend. After this incident he is only mentioned as having been protected by David against the vengeance the Gibeonites were permitted to execute on the house of Saul (21:7). He is also called Merib-baal (1 Chr. 8:34; 9:40). (See ZIBA.)

From Smith's Bible Dictionary

William Smith, 1884

(exterminating the idol), the name borne by two members of the family of Saul --his son and his grandson.

(1.) Saul’s son by Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, his concubine. (2 Samuel 21:8) He and his brother Armoni were among the seven victims who were surrendered by David to the Gibeonites, and by them crucified to avert a famine from which the country was suffering.

(2.) The son of Jonathan, grandson of Saul and nephew of the preceding; called also Merib-baal. (1 Chronicles 8:34) His life seems to have been, from beginning to end, one of trial and discomfort. When his father and grandfather were slain on Gilboa he was an infant but five years old. At this age he met with an accident which deprived him for life of the use of both feet. (2 Samuel 4:4) After this he is found a home with Machir ben-Ammiel a powerful Gadite, who brought him up, and while here was married. Later on David invited him to Jerusalem, and there treated him and his son Micha with the greatest kindness. From this time forward he resided at Jerusalem, of Mephibosheth’s behavior during the rebellion of Absalom we possess two accounts--his own, (2 Samuel 13:24-30) and that of Ziba, (2 Samuel 16:1-4) They are naturally at variance with each other. In consequence of the story of Ziba, he was rewarded by the possessions of his master. Mephibosheth’s story --which however, he had not the opportunity of telling until several days later, when he met David returning to his kingdom at the western bank of Jordan --was very different from Ziba’s. That David did not disbelieve it is shown by his revoking the judgment he had previously given. That he did not entirely reverse his decision, but allowed Ziba to retain possession of half the lands of Mephibosheth, is probably due partly to weariness at the whole transaction, but mainly to the conciliatory frame of mind in which he was at that moment. "Shall there any man be put to death this day?" is the keynote of the whole proceeding.